Jane Doe
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of Jane Doe
First recorded in 1935–40; feminine of John Doe
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One Jane Doe filed in April to turn her lawsuit into a class action suit against Wiley and Columbia University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The woman, listed as Jane Doe in a civil claim filed this week, said she arrived at Station 96 in Temecula just after 10 one evening last November to visit a man she’d met online.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
Now let’s meet a hypothetical couple, John and Jane Doe; they’re both 30 and want to buy a house.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 27, 2026
During a high-profile trial this spring, the jury heard from two of Combs' ex-girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified as "Jane Doe".
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025
Without preliminary, Lawyer Bain said: “I want to see that Jane Doe certificate again.”
From The Secret of Lonesome Cove by Adams, Samuel Hopkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
